Ah, winter.

The temperature starts to drop, the town turns sparkly white, the days start to shorten. Then all of a sudden, motivation declines, morale is low, and then you wake up one day and you're missing 8 assignments, haven't been to class in a week, and can barely get out of bed for dinner. We've all been there. Some worse than others, but it is kind of inevitable in this day and age.

I had seasonal depression severely this semester, and I quite frankly thought that I was not going to escape the darkness that was running through my head, causing restless nights, lack of motivation, and constantly begging myself to leave my bed every day. I tried everything that everyone told me to do to get better. I saw a therapist, kept myself busy, "treated myself" to new clothes, and so much more, but I just felt stuck. I felt like I didn't belong here- like I had no clue what to do with my life and that I was just kind of "existing".

One day, I finally broke. I felt myself collapse into the huge ball of anxiety and depression that I never thought I would. All because of seasonal depression. I am so grateful, though, that I had friends who were super helpful and supportive that pulled me out of this extremely rough day, and rather quickly. I did things I enjoyed: went to get coffee, took a walk outside, indulged in a little retail therapy, and took the day to relax and participate in some good old self-care.

I'm not going to say that these little things will help everyone, but everyone has their "go-to" plan to combat depression, but most people do not know what their plan is, or haven't discovered it yet.

The best way to combat seasonal depression is to first surround yourself with people that motivate you. People who are determined to help you succeed and support you are the best type to surround yourself with. It has helped me immensely since I have found and made myself close to my current best friends. The positive energy of your friends will help get you out of bed in the morning- even if it's just to the T.V. room or the kitchen to talk. Baby steps.

The next thing I'd recommend is delving into your creative side. You can try writing. Or drawing. Or painting. Or even reading. Do that one thing that has always interested you, but you have never really done, either because you're afraid or just have never gotten the chance to. Do something that sends your mind to an alternate world. One where your imagination runs wild and your anxiety is diminished by the creative words flowing on the keyboard, or the colors dripping off the paintbrush. Do what sets your soul on fire, or so they say, because it really does make a difference to dive into those creative endeavors.

Lastly, get out of bed. I know it is the absolute hardest thing to do, but you'll thank me later. Even if it's just to shower or to make yourself a small snack, walking or even standing will help blood flow throughout your body, and might even get you wanting to do things. For example, if I am laying in bed not wanting to do anything, I will sometimes get up and go talk to some of my friends in my house or will take a shower or even play with my makeup. Doing my makeup or being social really helps me have a tiny bit more motivation than I would have if I were laying in bed.

These few things might not make a drastic change in helping combat the seasonal decline of mental health, but little things slowly adding up with the help of a good support system and steady schedule will keep your mental health in check and hopefully improve. Although I am no doctor, I do know that we have all been there before, no one deserves to be in this alone, and you can talk to anyone.